With 50 days to go for the Trailblazers Conclave, I couldn’t think of anyone better than Mr TV Narendran to kick off the build-up. There is a very personal story connecting the conclave and Mr Narendran. When I was initially thinking about the conclave, my very first call was to him.
“If it’s only cricket, we’d not want to do it,” he said. Those words were music to my ears. I had always wanted to include Olympic and Paralympic sport and create a synergy with men’s and women’s cricket. Imagine Abhinav Bindra sitting down with Richa Ghosh to talk about pressure, or Pullela Gopichand doing the same with Deepti Sharma. Imagine Neeraj Chopra and Sumit Antil speaking together about the winning mantra.
I shared this vision with Mr Narendran, and we got talking. Within 30 minutes, Tata Steel had come on board as presenting partners, and Trailblazers was on. In the three years since, the conclave has grown bigger and better and is now one of India’s leading sports forums.
Over these three years, Mr Narendran’s support has also grown deeper and stronger. Let me give another example. In May 2025, the Indian women’s team was set to tour the UK for a T20 and 50-over series. Months ahead of the World Cup—which they have since won and made history—this was a crucial series in terms of preparation.
Mr Narendran and I happened to be speaking one morning when he asked whether we planned to cover the women’s tour with equal intensity. That was always the plan. Trisha Ghosal and I had put together an elaborate coverage schedule, which I shared with him. The response was immediate: “We will support you in this.”
Much before the women won the World Cup, we already had strong corporate backing for our women’s cricket coverage, thanks to Mr Narendran. That’s why there is no one better to launch the conclave campaign.
Enjoy this conversation, where we talk about sport, the conclave, and the life lessons sport leaves us with. An avid runner and one of India’s finest minds, Mr TV Narendran is my guest in today’s very special interview, which marks the launch of Trailblazers 4.0.
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